The U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, on Saturday, brings the possibility of dramatic change in what was once one of Latin America’s most dynamic economies—as well as a warning shot for leaders in the region who don’t play nice with the Trump administration. U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. is “going to run” Venezuela until there’s a transition of power, and that the U.S. will tap the country’s substantial oil reserves to rebuild the economy. “A power vacuum looks like a real possibility,” said the Caracas Chronicles, an independent news and analysis organization that closely covers events in Venezuela. Only a handful of international law firms have a presence in the South American country, which has struggled amid decades of decline and outward migration. Baker McKenzie, a firm that established its first office outside of the U.S. in Caracas in 1955, lists 19 lawyers on its website who are based in Venezuela, including eight partners. Dentons took over Norton Rose Fulbright's Venezuela office in 2019 and currently has 21 lawyers based in Caracas. However, Hogan Lovells closed its office in the Venezuelan capital amid the country's economic free fall in 2018, while DLA Piper pulled out in 2016. Latin America practice leaders at firms active in cross-border work are hopeful that military action in Venezuela will have little impact on activity related to major economies, such as Brazil and Mexico. “Venezuela is not viewed as risking contagion, though a hot conflict could change that,” Todd Crider, co-head of Simpson Thacher’s Latin America practice, told Law.com International before Maduro’s arrest. “Venezuela’s economy is mostly, at this point, cordoned off from the region,” he added. Now, with the removal of Maduro, the Trump administration has shown it is willing to enact regime change in a country it alleges is enabling the illicit drug trade. This conveys a chilling message to the leader of Colombia, leftist President Gustavo Petro, who has already been sanctioned by the U.S. government for failing to curb the cocaine trade, and sends caution signals to Mexico, a country Trump has repeatedly said is run by cartels. “If you are a leader that Trump doesn’t like and thinks he can take you out, then he’s going to. That is why Maduro is gone today,” said Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group. “It’s the law of the jungle. The United States is the most powerful country in the western hemisphere and therefore gets to carry a really big stick—gets to do what it wants.” The military action by the U.S. in Venezuela has raised major questions related to international law. Some leaders are concerned about the implications for Russia, China, and any other country that chooses to pursue a similar road map and invade countries and capture leaders they find objectionable. Venezuela’s Decline Fifty years ago, in the 1970s, oil-rich Venezuela had the highest per capita income in Latin America and ranked among the 20 biggest economies in the world. But its dependence on oil revenue led to neglect and mismanagement of other sectors, while allowing corruption and inequality to flourish. Under the leadership of Hugo Chávez, who was first elected president in 1998 and served four terms, the country saw steady economic decline. Private assets were expropriated, currency controls were put in place, the country was hit with high inflation, and it experienced shortages of key goods. The country deteriorated further under Chavez's successor, Nicolás Maduro, who now faces narco-terrorism charges in U.S. courts alongside his wife. Venezuela's long and painful decline has been accompanied by an exodus of very wealthy Venezuelans, as well as many of the lawyers who acted for them. The wealth that has flooded offshore, combined with U.S. government restrictions and sanctions on Venezuelan entities, has created complicated tax and advisory situations for many Venezuelans.